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Program Description
This degree is designed for students who have decided not to pursue a PhD. The department views the master's degree as a terminal degree that usually takes about 3-4 semesters of coursework and research to achieve.
Admissions
All applicants to the Graduate School of Arts and Science (GSAS) are required to submit the general application requirements, which include:
See Chemistry for admission requirements and instructions specific to this program.
Program Requirements
Students must satisfactorily complete 32 credits (minimum of 24 credits while in residence at New York University) with a GPA of 3.0 or better with no single class grade below B-. Students are required to take a 0-credit course CHEM-GA 2673 Professional Development. During the first semester in residence and the CHEM-GA 3010 Graduate Seminar in the fall semester of their second year. Students must attend a minimum of ten (10) colloquia/seminars prior to graduation. Courses taken outside of the Chemistry Department must be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies.
Students may choose one of the two paths detailed below:
Thesis Path
In their first semester students must chose an advisor by submitting the Master's Thesis Advisor Selection Form to the Graduate Program Administrator.
In the Thesis Masters Path, students must prepare a dissertation based on original research using the NYU Dissertation formatting requirements accompanied by an oral examination and defense of this research in the major field (thesis masters). The Master’s Thesis Examination Committee consists of three members of the faculty (one must be the thesis advisor). The Master’s thesis defense consists of an oral presentation by the student, approximately 45-50 minutes in length, which is open to the public. A closed-door question-and-answer section by the Master’s Thesis Examination Committee immediately follows the public presentation.
After successful completion of their defense, students must submit. to the Graduate Program Administrator, the GSAS Thesis Exam Form and Department Thesis Exam Form to be processed and for signatures to be collected.
Non-Thesis Path
Non-thesis Masters students must complete 30 credits in graduate lecture courses and the mandatory 0 credit CHEM-GA 2673 Professional Development and the 2 credit course CHEM-GA 3010 Graduate Seminar, with a GPA of B (3.0) or better. In the Graduate Seminar course, students must research an important topic of chemistry from the literature (the topic has to be agreed on by the instructor on record for the seminar course), identify 3-5 publications that describe cutting edge research in the chosen topic, prepare and present in a public setting a 45 minute seminar on the chosen topic followed by a question and answer session from the audience. This literature review followed by a public presentation is viewed as the capstone requirement for this plan.
Course List
| Course |
Title |
Credits |
| CHEM-GA 2673 | Professional Development 1 | 0 |
| CHEM-GA 3010 | Graduate Seminar 2 | 2 |
| 30-32 |
| Total Credits | 32 |
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will:
- Have made a significant and original contribution to the field of chemistry.
- Have mastered the theories and concepts in their area of specialization.
- Be able to critically evaluate the scientific literature.
- Be able to think critically.
Policies
NYU Policies
University-wide policies can be found on the New York University Policy pages.
Graduate School of Arts and Science Policies
Academic Policies for the Graduate School of Arts and Science can be found on the Academic Policies page.